Time for some Dodger Thoughts

A large group from Dodger Thoughts is coming to today’s game and we’ve got a few cool things in store for them. I’m fairly certain that anyone that reads this blog also reads Jon Weisman’s site every day, as he does an incredible job of "covering" the Dodgers for someone who isn’t out here every day. I’m sure when he started his blog five years ago today, he didn’t think it would become what it has but it’s very obvious what a big role it plays in many of your lives, which is something he should be proud of…

Meanwhile, I see a lot of chatter every day about who should be in the lineup, but strangely, there’s not a lot of talk about trade winds. It almost feels like the deadline isn’t 10 days away. What do you all think? Do you like the team as it is or would you go out and add something to it. If so, what? (and try to be realistic).

Today’s game is on FOX and thought it’s not on "national" TV, it is on in 118 markets across the country so it’ll be the most watched game in the country.

Meanwhile, here’s a cool note: The Dodgers are donating 400 bags of sunflower seeds to Blue Star Mother’s of America for U.S. troops overseas through our seed supplier, David Seeds. The individual bags of seeds will be placed in care packages for the troops. Blue Star Mothers of America is a 501(c)3 service organization of Mothers who have, or have had, children honorably serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Here’s today’s lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C (you can chat with him live on Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT)

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Betemit, 3B

Ethier, RF

Kemp, LF

Penny, P (trying to be the first Dodger since Phil Regan in 1966 to start out 12-1

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122 Comments

hmmm…in regards to trading, i actually kinda like what we have and i don’t see anyone out there worth getting. yes, there’s definitely some areas where the team needs to improve, but i think the team would be better off working with the players they currently have.

Hallelujah!!! This is the squad that should be on the field most of the time. I would also like to see Pierre rotated in and out, but Grady is so rigid with his favorite lineup. Why must we go on losing streaks to affect change. I would love to have a manager who is proactive and adaptable. Loney, Kemp, and Ethier should not be at the bottom of the lineup. How many times do we see Loney and Kemp on base with 2 outs and the pitcher is due up? Talk about runners LOB as a problem for us and you have to look at the lineup order. Players in slumps should not maintain a permanent spot in the lineup. Players who are hot should be given more opportunities to get on base and drive in runs. If Grady insists on playing guys everyday who are not producing then he must bat them lower in the order and bat those guys highter in the order who ARE producing.

My opinion of the lack of discussion regarding trades would be that I’m deathly afraid if we talk trade too much some of our wonderful young talent will be forfeited.

We have a great nucleolus from which to launch a decade of winning and maybe winning BIG. I am extremely reluctant to trade one year for ten years.

Plus I think we’ll at least make the playoffs this year.

If there was a perceived need in would be in the pitching department. Perhaps a middle releiver and a starter if Wolf doesn’t get back this year.

But our young pitchers seem poised also to jump in if given the chance as the young hitters have and I do not want to sacrifice the farm guys that so many other teams covet.

This is what a GM must do. Find some talent others are willing to part with, perhaps because of talents, attitude or whatever and get them for next to nothing. Kinda like how we got Greg Maddox last year. Isitiruz (sp?)was/is a great talent but surplus to us. That’s the kind of trade we should do this year or not trade at all.

I’m hesitant to let Betemit go, I think he will be great someday, but then again LaRoche has the genes to be superior.

Our farm director and people in charge of the draft should be commended for the last several years as should Ned and Grady.

Ditto zobeida–If we have to I can wait another year for a world series shot if we have to. I do not want to lose any of our youg talent we have now on the team nor those in the minors that have good potential. I would like to see Kemp & Loney hit higher in the linup & when we can afford to, get rid of Tommko.

momo,
Kemp’s defense is not as good as Andre’s yet, although his arm is stronger and is perfect for RF. RF is the most important corner and it is Andre’s natural position. Andre prefers RF also. Remember that Kemp is 3 years younger and is late to baseball. He has a lot to learn yet and soon will be proficient at all positions.

Trades? I wouldn’t mind picking up a decent middle reliever or 4-5 starter if the price was right, but there’s no way we should trade any of the kids. This is the most promising group of homegrown players I’ve seen since the early 70s. If that means going with what we have–plus maybe someone like Meloan from AAA–so be it.

The looming trade deadline, gives me the shakes. We need pitching badly and preferably a SP, but there’s nothing worth going after. So, that leaves a RP in the sights of Ned and company. I hear from Ned that he will not give up our young studs on the roster, which is fantastic. But, what about Abreu, Hu, LaRoche, Young, Elbert, Kershaw, etc. as trade material? I think those kids are more valuable than rumored acquisitions of Dotel, Proctor, Bruney, Wheeler, Reyes, or Vizcaino. With Ned’s track record of pitching trades it scares me to death. Middle relievers come and go and are goood or bad from one year to the next. I would rather live and die with our own kids like Meloan then give up one of those prospects.

Lets review, we swept the Mets in June and it took a rare Derek Lowe meltdown and DFA on arrival Roberto Hernandez for the Mets to beat us. Of course it doesn’t help we don’t have any off days to help our bullpen. It also doesn’t help we trust a 42 year old over a stud waiting in the wings…

First of all, I really like this lineup and wish that we would maintain it regularly with Gonzo and Nomar filling in more of a utility position for the infield and outfield. They could also be the primary pinch-hitters from both sides of the plate.
As for trades, our primary need, I believe, if for a quality starting pitcher. While Tomko’s performance in his last two games was very good, I don’t count on Wolf being able to come back in his early season form, and Hendrickson seems just better suited to the long relief. Middle relief, I believe, we should fill from our own organization, like Meloan.

How much would I be willing to give up for a SP – not very much. If we can get an Arroyo with a reasonable length contract, because the Reds may want to unload his salary, for one of our prospects, preferably from the AAA, that would be acceptable, but no Loney, Kemp, or Broxton. I want to keep our best together and playing with the Dodgers for the rest of the season. If we make it into the playoffs, fine; if not, we’ll go for even bigger things next year.

yeah fisher i really don’t care enough to worry about my vocab. I just finished school a couple weeks ago so during my break im going to throw my english out der window.

Ken Rosenthal just reported that a deal for Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers could get done soon. The royals want “a young position player” in return. They initially asked for Matt Kemp or James Loney. I think Delwyn Young is going to the Royals.

Delwyn Young should work, but I wouldn’t want to give up Hu, LaRoche or Abreu for Dotel. In the first place, we should have brought up Meloan to see what he could do instead of signing the 42 yr. old. Would that have been taking any more of a chance than with Hernandez? Should have tested that out before we were right at the trading deadline too.

Does it really matter? Kemp played LF for us last year. If you can played RF you should be able to played LF. I just find it weird some players can’t. I see no different in any spot. We got our wish to have Loney, Ethier and Kemp at the same thing and you still complaining momoracci. Sorry there is no reason to complain today.

I wonder if the producers at Fox have put together the fact that Dodgers dont give a flying **** about Barroids. We all know he’s going to break it. But one more Illegitimate homerun is just as illegitimate as the other 753. Bonds should just get it over with, go bathe in flaxseed oil so he can retire. A-Rod will have the record in a short 6 years.

Do not trade Betemit! Play him at 3rd everyday. Also what’s up with Ned signing another 40ish guy in Hernandez? I’m sure Ned and Grady are both in depressed states they missed out on 50 year old Julio Franco. Bring up Meloan release Hernandez , get rid of Tomato and Martinez and bring up Abreu. Stay away from trades unless you can pick up some pitching for lesser minor leaguers.

I got mlb 2007 the shows on PS2 am I’m stupid having Reyes as my SS and Wright as my 3rd baseman. I got Crawford in CF Ichiro in RF. It **** my whole team is hitting well but I guess I got it on rookie. Wright leading my team with 97 rbi’s and I think he got like 20+ homerun and is only in my 60 games. Too bad I got Kent in the minor and trading Pierre and Penny. My whole bench is hitting over .500+

as far as trades go, read my blog from yesterday. if we don’t win a divison title yhis year it won’t be the kids fault, but the yets, and mgmt. decisions. our prospects are our future for the next 10 years, they will produce lots of tittles for us, protect the prospects, only trading prospects that are blocked(d. young, alexander, troncoso type of players,good players with a chance to play in the bigs.
trade some yets to open up more playing time for our kids, we know hernandez is washed up, abreu is better than martinez, some pitching could be dumped for room for meloan, that said a solid starter would be nice if wolfe is not ready to go, but I would risk it with the kids

the kind of trade I would make, worried about saito’s arm, trade alexander, Troncoso to texas for gange, would not trade meloan and leach for anyone.
would trade d.young becayse the dodgers won’t bring him up to the bigs, he is a very good hitter, but blocked.

not saying the vets will be why we would lose, only that the vets are not playing as well as our younger players, and frankly some of the vets

I don’t want to see Betemit traded either, and I would like to see him starting regularly at least against right handed pitching. He is showing more power than Nomar, and his recent OBP is at least as good as Nomar.

Risking the idea that in a day, I could be proven wrong, I don’t see a big move coming. Young for Dotel is possible, but it’s pretty clear that Young is not in our plans, so he might go for Dotel.

I agree with paulg57–there is not much talk of trade because there are VERY few deals that make sense, and no one here thinks any of the young prospects should be dealt.

I know we’re all worried about some crazy move, but I am now thoroughly convinced that Matt Kemp (as with Russell Martin and Chad Billingsley) will never, ever, be traded. And while I am not yet willing to say that we’ll never lose Loney, Ethier, or Broxton (though, I am doubting it), Ned won’t trade them this year unless he borrows Doc and Marty’s DeLorean and getting Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig in 1927).

Abreu, LaRoche, and Betemit are also unlikely to go anywhere, but if the right deal came along, it’s not inconceivable. I just don’t see the right deal. People have been talking about Octavio Dotel, but renting him for the year does not really seem worth giving up those prospects. As I said, Delwyn Young might make sense–it might even be worth an additional prospect, but KC would probably be happy to get rid of the salary.

” No, the Dodgers will not entertain trading James Loney, Matt Kemp, (obviously) Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley or Jonathan Broxton. Ned Colletti is looking for a starter or reliever, expecting Randy Wolf back around the deadline. A number of teams, including Boston, have been trying to get in on Andy LaRoche”

Suffering Bruin from Dodger thoughts here. I just wanted to share how grateful we all are to Frank McCourt, Camille Johnston and Josh for a memorable afternoon. It should be stressed that these three wonderful people could not have been more kind with their time. I’m not only cheering for my favorite team; I’m cheering for my favorite organization.

cool…call boston and ask them if we can have beckett ;) no but seriously, i think we need one more solid starter and reliever and we’re good to go. i still think we would match up well to trade for jennings but his health is very iffy. i would be hesistant to give up any top prospect but maybe if we got jennings AND one of the astro’s relievers it would be worth it. im sure they’d be happy to have laroche/betemit/abreu since they have no good young infielders.

Thanks Josh for the nice day for the Dodger Thoughts crowd. It was great to meet Frank, Camille and you. Everyone was very gracious. Obviously, your organization is doing a lot of things right and I appreciate it. I hope I can participate in the next great Dodger Thoughts excursion next year too!

To the question above, I think the Dodgers could use an experienced starting pitcher. But I don’t believe they should use anyone from the active roster in a trade. They have plenty of talent in their minor league system. If this can not be accomplished then they should keep the team as it is and wait for when a free agent comes along. A great game today. It is astonishing the way they came back down 4-1. To beat the Mets in that fashion says a lot for this young team. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT.

Josh, I’m seconding Marty’s appreciation to you for arranging the opportunity to meet you, Frank and Camille. All three of you were generous with your time and insights.

On trades: No need, given the emergence of Kemp & Loney’s power. They’ll slump, but so would an imported slugger. All home run hitters go cold. Six weeks ago, panic might have set in if the Padres brought in a slugger. Now, I feel like our new players have given us the advantage over them.

Same with pitching. The Pads have great pitching, as we do. But, like ours, theirs is human. They’ll get hurt, get tired, or go into slumps, as will ours. We could add a reliever, but only if the deal is one-sided in our favor, i.e. Dotel for Young, straight-up.

Delwyn Young could be expendable, as he’s blocked by Kemp & Ethier. If Tomko has any value, cut him loose…Houlton & Stults are equally capable for much less money.

In summary, I think the consensus is that most Dodger fans fear losing a piece of the future more than the anticipation of a new hero to lead us to the promised land. The young nucleus of our team is exciting! I’d rather see the introduction of Jonathan Meloan, than the arrival of Roberto Hernandez. And Betemit’s left-handed stroke is much more electric than Nomar’s power shortage.

I’m encouraged by the article in the LA Times concerning Colletti’s mood about the trade situation. Sounds like there aren’t the kind of players out there warranting Kemp, Loney, or Ethier off of our club. I would only add LaRoche, Abreu and obviously Broxton to that mix. He apparently turned down Proctor for Betemit, and I applaud that decision as well. Sounds like nothing big will go down until the last day or so, if then. By then we should have some indication how Wolf will respond to the rest he’s had, and I’m certainly hoping that Stultz has a reasonably good and long outing today, which could also spell a relief to the pitching emergency.

At this point I’d like to reiterate that Betemit should be left to start most of the ballgames at 3rd, especially against right-handers and when we’re on the road. He seems to be exhibiting good patience at the plate, more so than Nomar, and is currently hitting for a better average and certainly with expectations of more power. I would even leave him in when a left-handed reliever comes on in order to see if he can now adjust better from the other side of the plate. If he can remain hot, it’ll be a very good offensive addition to the lineup instead of the hole that Nomar now typically provides.

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